Crownpoint draws Sandia Prep in 3A playoffs

WINDOW ROCK

The New Mexico state volleyball tournament gets underway today with some of our area teams making the field.

On Sunday, the New Mexico Activities Association released the brackets in all five classes with the top four seeds in each bracket earning first-round byes.

The teams seeded No. 5 through 12 are scheduled to play today with the winners advancing into Friday’s quarterfinals.

The Crownpoint Lady Eagles earned the No. 10 seed in the 3A bracket and they are at No. 7 Albuquerque Sandia Prep tonight with the match scheduled for 6 p.m.

“I was hoping to host a Tuesday game but the girls know how to win on the road,” Crownpoint coach Khadijha Jackson said.

Other games scheduled today include No. 11 Zuni at No. 6 Santa Fe Indian School at 6 p.m. in the 3A bracket.

In Class 4A, No. 12 Kirtland Central plays at No. 5 Pojoaque Valley at 6 p.m.

In the 1A bracket, No. 8 seed Pine Hill hosts No. 9 Cimarron at 4 p.m. today.

Teams earning byes include No. 4 Gallup in the 4A bracket, No. 3 Laguna-Acoma in the 2A bracket and No. 2 seed Ramah in the 1A bracket.

Those higher seeded teams will start their playoff run on Friday in Rio Rancho.

Crownpoint is making a return trip to the state playoffs after a five-year hiatus behind a veteran senior squad.

Jackson said the team has leaned on the leadership of setter Harley Perry and middle hitters Madison Arviso and Brianna Billie.

“They really came through for us and they pulled their team together, especially in tough times when we were making errors,” the second-year coach said of her seniors. “They pulled them together … and they just kept the ball rolling.”

Crownpoint earned its state bid by winning the District 1-3A title in the final regular season game against archrival Thoreau.

The Eagles swept Thoreau last Thursday. The set scores were 25-16, 26-24 and 25-23.

That sweep avenged a 3-2 loss to Thoreau early this season as Crownpoint finished the district with a 9-3 mark over Zuni and Thoreau as the latter teams had identical 8-4 records.

“It was intense but the girls were ready for it,” Jackson said. “They were prepared and honestly they pieced everything together because we knew we had to beat Thoreau to make state.”

Jackson said things looked bleak in the middle of the district campaign as her squad started league play with a 3-3 record.

But after losing to Thoreau on Oct. 12 in a marathon game, the Eagles ended the season with six straight wins to win the district.

“We just started to click,” Jackson said of their string of wins. “I just told them that if we go undefeated for the rest of the season, we had that chance to make state.”

The Crownpoint coach added that it’s been a long time coming since the Eagles have won the district title.

“This is really big for us,” Jackson said. “It’s big for our town because we didn’t know if we would be here with the slow start that we had.

“The girls were kind of iffy,” she added, “but they realized how much damage they can do.”

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